Sanitary butter-knife container



Aug. 28, 1928.

J. HORAN SANITARY BUTTER KNIFE CONTAINER l I E: M 1 22 4; 44 3 5 IN VfiN TOR B Y WTORNE;

Filed Aug. 12, 1927 rmad. 15

Patented Aug. 28, 1928.

UNITED STATES.

JEREMIAH HORAN, 0F FLUSHING, NEW YORK.

SANITARY BUTTER-KNIFE CONTAINER.

Application filed August 12, 1927. Serial No. 212,494.

This invention relates to sanitary containers, and its object is to provide improved and efficient means for supporting a cutting utensil When same is not in use, and for protecting the blade thereof against contact with any unclean matter, or anything that would contaminate such food stuffs as the said utensil might be used to cut or apportion.

The invention herewithv shown and described, is supplementary to the Patent No. 1,598,443 for sanitary containers for butter knives, granted to me on August 31, 1927; and tothe device shown in my pending application in the United States Patent Office, for sanitary containers for butter knives, Serial No. 38.843, filed June 22, 1925; and differs from these, in that it provides a casing through which the blade is visible, and which casing is formed of a material, the surface of which will not absorb, or be chemically acted upon by the oils or greases ordinarily found in butter, lard, cheese or like food stuffs, and is not subject to corrosion under normal conditions, and which is especially adapted for cleansing by the use of hot water or by other suitable means.

Other novel features of the device claimed, are a concave cap having a slot therein with downward disposed mar inal flanges, means for. the attachment of the said cap by the use of bayonet slots and lugs engaging the same, and novel means for the support of the casing element.

In the drawings Fig. 1 shows afront view of the device, with portion cut away at the top to disclose the construction of the concave cap.

Fig. 2 shows a side view of same. i

Fig. 3 shows a top plan view, showing the supporting bracket attached to adjacent wood-work. The knife is not shown in this View.

Fig. 4 shows a fragmentary section on the line 44 of Figure 1, also with the knife removed.

Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of the Fig. 6 showsthe casing only, supported by a modified form of the supporting element.

Fig. 7 shows a top plan view of the elements illustrated in Figure 6.

Referring first to Figure 1 of the drawings, the device comprises a transparent jar, or casing 10 which may be of glass, or other suitable material. This casing has a ridge 11 extending aroundthe back and sides thereof. Its general form is rectangular, but it is reduced at the corners near to the top to form a circular neck 12. This neck is increased in thickness at the top to provide the ring portion 13 which has at intervals, bayonet slots as seen at 14, 15 etc. in Figure 1, and further indicated by the dotted line 16 in Figure 2.

Still referring to Figure 1, a cap 19 which may be of metal. or any suitable material, is provided with a downward disposed flange 20, and inward extending lugs as seen at 21, 22 etc. WVhen affixing the cap, these lugs are forced downward into the s ots and secured by a turn to the right. The central portion of this cap is concaved as seen at 23 and has a transverse slot 24 which is provided with a downward disposed marginal flange 25.

The casing is supported by the bracket 28 seen in Figure 3, which may be attached to an ice box, or any adjacent woodwork. This bracket has arms extending from the shank 29 around the sides of the said casing and turned in at the forward. ends as shown at 30 and 31. The ridge 11 rests upon this bracket, and the casing may be lifted out for cleaning or like purposes.

A knife 33 seen in Figures 1 and 2 and having a blade 36 may be inserted through the slot 24, where it will rest with its handle supported by the concave portion of the cap.

It should be understood that the cap 19 may be positioned so as to have the slot 24 substantially at right angles to the'position illustrated in Fig, 1, by rotating the cap 17 relative to the casing 10 and engaging lugs 21 and 22 in the bayonet slots which correspond to the altered position of the cap, it is understood that these latter slots are spaced apart from each other by90. This free down alteration permits the slot 24 to be so positioned as to hold the knife with the handle in that position which is most advantageous and convenient for the user so as to assure the user that the cutting edge of the knife or the flat side thereof will be in a predetermined position relative to his hand when he grips the handle. I

It should be further understood that the downwardly projecting flanges 25 serve to engage the sides of the blade of the knife and prevent the same from tilting sidewisc.

These flanges also guide the insertion of the blade into the casing in such a manner as to prevent the pointed extremity thereof from engaging the side of the casing.

Another form of supporting bracket is shown in Figures 6 and T at 40. It is attached to a supporting surface in the manner heretofore described, and is constructed with bayonet slots 41 and 42 which are adapted to receive the trunnion lugs 43 and 4:4: which are integral with the casing 10.

It is obvious that the casing may be readily removed, and when suspended, has a limited range of swing, which permits of greater convenience when removing the knife. The pivotally mounted casing is adapted to freely rotate when the knife is extracted from the casing by a partiallylateral thrust so as to eliminate danger of breaking the blade by an inclined or angular retraction of the knife relative to the longitudinal axis of the casing.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. In a device of the character described, a casing adapted to be supported on a suit able bracket, an opening at the top of the A device of the class described comprising a casing having an open upper extremity, a cap mounted on said upper extremity having a slot therein adapted to receive the blade of a knife for permitting insertion thereof into said casing and inwardly disposed flanges on said cap bounding the sides of said slot adapted to guide the insertlon of the blade of a knife into said casing for preventing the same from ongaging the sides of the casing.

1n testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

JEREMIAH HORAN. 

